Cooking appliance

ABSTRACT

A cooking appliance includes a housing, a heater within the housing, a cooking space within the housing, a fan causing hot air from the heater to enter the cooking space, a receptacle located lower than the cooking space, a passage from the cooking space to the receptacle, and a pan located within the cooking space for receiving food and being movable from a first position in which the hot air cooks the food, to a second position whereupon cooked food in the pan can fall through the passage to the receptacle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to cooking appliances. The invention more particularly, although not exclusively, relates to an electric appliance for cooking and dispensing potato chips or “French fries”.

It is known to cook food items such as French fries by deep frying, shallow frying or oven baking. The known cooking methods involve large ovens, deep frying tubs or cook tops. The cooked chips must be transferred via a wire-framed basket for example to separate serving vessels or containers and clean-up is required afterwards.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate at least one of the above disadvantages and/or more generally to provide an improved cooking appliance for cooking French fries and from which cooked items can be dispensed directly.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

There is disclosed herein a cooking appliance, comprising:

-   -   a housing;     -   a heater within the housing;     -   a cooking space within the housing;     -   a fan causing hot air from the heater to enter the cooking         space;     -   a receptacle located lower than the cooking space; and     -   a passage from the cooking space to the receptacle and through         which cooked food can pass to the receptacle.

Preferably, the appliance further comprises a pan located within the cooking space for receiving food and being movable from a first position in which the hot air cooks the food, to a second position whereupon cooked food in the pan can fall through the passage to the receptacle.

Preferably, the pan is mounted pivotally to the housing.

Preferably, the cooking space comprises a curved floor which includes the passage.

Preferably, the appliance further comprises a shovel pivotally mounted to the housing to pivot within the pan to scoop food items in the pan.

Preferably, the receptacle comprises a drawer.

Preferably, the appliance further comprises an air outlet via which hot air can escape from the cooking space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic front elevation of a cooking appliance with its pan in a first/cooking configuration;

FIG. 2 is a schematic front elevation of the cooking appliance with its pan in a second/dispensing configuration;

FIG. 3 is a schematic rear elevation of the cooking appliance;

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the cooking appliance;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side elevation of the cooking appliance; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic side elevation of the cooking appliance from the other side.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the accompanying drawings there is depicted schematically a cooking appliance 10 comprising a housing 11 within which the various components are located.

Within the housing 11 there is a cooking space 23. The cooking space 23 has a curved floor 24 having a passageway or “trap door” 18.

Beneath the passageway 18 is a drawer 17 for receiving cooked food items.

Mounted pivotally at 22 to the housing 11 and located within the cooking space 23 is a pan 14 within which food items such as potato chips or French fries are placed for cooking. The pan 14 has a curved floor spaced slightly inward of a curved floor 24 of the cooking space. Each rest position as shown in FIG. 1, the pan covers the passageway 18.

A shovel 16 is also mounted pivotally at 22 to the housing 11 and moves within the pan 14.

Electric heating elements 20 are located behind the cooking space 23 and a fan 19 blows air across the heating elements 20 and via a hot air inlet 12 to the cooking space 23. An air outlet 13 is provided to allow the escape of air from the cooking space.

The appliance typically operates on main power. A power switch 15 is provided at the front of the appliance to activate the fan 19 and heating elements 20.

Once the food articles are cooked, the user can manipulate a handle (not shown) to pivot the pan 14 either left or right to expose the passageway 18 so that the cooked food items fall from the pan through the passageway to the drawer 17 therebelow. The user can then manipulate another handle (also not shown) to pivot the shovel 16 back and forth to ensure that any remaining cooked food items fall through the passageway 18 to the drawer 17.

The drawer can be removed completely from the housing 11 for serving purposes.

It should be appreciated that modifications and alterations obvious to those skilled in the art are not to be considered as beyond the scope of the present invention. For example timer circuitry could be provided to turn off the heating elements 20 and fan 19 after a preset order user-set interval. 

1. A cooking appliance, comprising: a housing; a heater within the housing; a cooking space within the housing; a fan causing hot air from the heater to enter the cooking space; a receptacle located lower than the cooking space; and a passage from the cooking space to the receptacle and through which cooked food can pass to the receptacle.
 2. The appliance of claim 1, further comprising a pan located within the cooking space for receiving food and being movable from a first position in which the hot air cooks the food, to a second position whereupon cooked food in the pan can fall through the passage to the receptacle.
 3. The appliance of claim 2, wherein the pan is mounted pivotally to the housing.
 4. The appliance of claim 3, wherein the cooking space comprises a curved floor which includes the passage.
 5. The appliance of claim 2, further comprising a shovel pivotally mounted to the housing to pivot within the pan to scoop food items in the pan.
 6. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the receptacle comprises a drawer.
 7. The appliance of claim 1, further comprising an air outlet via which hot air can escape from the cooking space. 